Love Again
by CrescentNine
Summary: Canada is in love. The only problem, its with France and he seems to still be in love with someone else. What's a poor Canadian to do?
1. Introductions

**Characters/Pairings: FrancexJeanne and FrancexCanada for now~  
Rating: G for now~  
Warning: None for this chapter~  
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia**

France can honestly say that he can list his close friends on one hand. First and closest to him, there was England. Even if the two of them fought almost constantly deep down they were friends. Albeit not ones that would ever admit it but it was there. If you looked close enough. Second, there was the Northern Italy brother. He doted on the boy, be it in strange ways, but he did nonetheless. Third, there was Prussia and Spain. The three of them together had been dubbed the bad touch trio. No more needed to be said.

And last, there was Canada. He had practically raised the boy. Especially since while England had been raising America, the smaller, shyer boy had been left on his own.

Canada, on the other hand, could list the amount of close people he had an equal number of appendages. First there was Cuba, the man who sometimes had a hard time determining if he was Canada or America but truly did care about the curly haired brother. Second, there was his brother. Even if they America took advantage of him at every possible chance and demanded the most outrageous things, he knew he could count on Alfred if he needed him. Third, there was Kumajirou, the bear that he had raised from birth but for some reason still couldn't remember his name.

Lastly, there was France. He and England had raised him as lovingly as he could ask for. The main difference between the two was that France could remember Canada's name, whereas England still managed to get him confused for Alfred.

Despite the fact that the two of them had grown apart over the years, France and Canada held a bond that resembled America and England's only of a less intensity. Take for example, right now.

Canada sat in his normal chair, Kumajirou on his lap and a serene smile on his face. In front of him Alfred and Arthur were arguing over some stupid plan that America had come up with having something to do with an idea on how to save a number of endangered species. Something involving cloning which England thought was completely daft.

France was watching the two arguing, a wide smile on his face at how apparent the sexual tension was between the two. Canada could see the pulsing vein in China's head as he tried to keep his calm but with Russia on one side of him and the bickering blonds on the other he was having quite a hard time.

Despite the fact that France was smiling widely, his sexual advances on the other members of this ragtag alliance had been halfhearted in Canada's eyes though he didn't think any one else would notice. Canada's smile fades ever so slightly and he looks at France through narrowed eyes. Yes, something was definitely off about the older man. Canada decided that he would ask him after the meeting.

"You bloody wanker your idea is ridiculous!" England growled his arms crossed over his chest.

"Who are you calling a wanker? You idiot!" America fired back "my plan is foolproof!" he yelled, his arms waving wildly around for emphasis. England resisted the urge to choke out his once colony, his bushy eyebrow was twitching in way that signaled just how intense his fury is.

"I say. That we call a recess for this meeting" China finally raised his voice, eyes closed in an attempt to fend of a headache that was pushing its way foreword. Russia smacked a hand to the back of his smaller ally and nodded emphatically.

"That is a good idea, da?" He smiled his wide smile that didn't quite meet his eyes and stood up, stretching his arms above his head as he did so. China eyed the large Russian warily but sighed and rose to his feet slowly. America and England turned to glare at China for suggesting they take a break but decided that it was for the better, turning and leaving the room side by side but still bickering lightly.

Canada watched as China and Russia fallowed the two blonds before rising to his feet himself. France stayed seated, leaning back in the chair and stifling a yawn. Now that Matthew was closer to the other nation he saw that there were deep purple bags beneath his eyes and he new instantly that the man hadn't slept the previous night, possibly longer.

"Can I help you, Mon Ami?" France raised his eyebrow lightly and Canada blushed deeply. He hadn't realized he had been staring.

"O-oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare" Matthew averted his gaze, looking down at Kumajirou with a frown. His face was still stained red.

"That's fine Matthew, no need to worry. You mind was obviously else-"

"What's the matter Francis?" Canada blurted out quickly, his blue eyes shining with concern and his mouth set in a thin line. France raised a perfectly trimmed eyebrow and frowned lightly at Canada.

"Well" France started slowly, a deep sigh escaping him as he rose to his feet. "Do you remember those lessons about my history?" France started, placing his hands on his hips and a serious tone to his voice that Canada hadn't heard in a long while.

"Yes, what about it?" Canada asked as his eyes narrowed lightly out of a mixture of curiosity and scrutiny. Just as France opened his mouth to speak Kumajirou decided that he wanted down and wiggled in his arms until Canada let him down, spewing a string of French curse words. However, he looked up, eyes wide when he realized just who he was in the room with and blushed darkly.

"So you were saying?" Matthew tried again, smiling sweetly through the blush.

"Well this coming Wednesday is the-" he was cut off yet again however when the group of nations returned to the room, apparently taking a hungry Kumajirou walking down the hallway as a sign that the meeting should start again. Matthew ignored the other nations and mentally urged France to continue but was sadly disappointed when England took his seat and France's hand roamed a little too high on the Brits thigh and he earned a punch to the head along with a slew of curse words and threats.

Just as Canada returned to his seat he heard France's melodic laughter and he felt his stomach do flips.

~:~:~:~:~:~:~

After the meeting, France struck up a conversation with Matthew's brother so instead of heading back to the source the Canadian decided to go for the next best thing.

"England! Can I ask you a question?"

"America. What the bloody hell do you want now?"

"I'm Ca-na-da. Remember?" Canada's face scrunched up in an annoyed way and he huffed lightly.

"I'm terribly sorry Matthew! What can I do for you?" England asked apologetically, running his hand through his hair lightly. Obviously flustered at the fact that he mistook Canada as America…again.

"Do you know why France would be distressed over this coming Wednesday?" Canada asked, shifting his polar bear in his arms and shifting his weight from leg to leg. England's gaze rose to the ceiling momentarily as he racked his memory. Trying to figure out just why May 30th had some sort of impact on his perverted counterpart.

Oh. It was that day.

England shuddered deeply, his gaze falling to the boy in front of him and he let out a small sigh. "I'd prefer you ask Francis himself about that Matthew" England said, his voice low but somehow level. Without another word, the older nation turned on his heals and headed out main entrance. Canada frowned deeply but let out a defeated sigh.

_I'm going to get to the bottom of this before next week if it takes everything I have _He thought to himself, a small but determined smile gracing his face.

**Read and Review please! ^^**


	2. Embarrassment

**Characters/Pairings: FrancexJeanne and FrancexCanada for now~  
Rating: G for now~  
Warning: None for this chapter~  
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia**

Over the next few days, Canada asked around to many of the other countries that he thought were even remotely close to Francis about what had happen. But they couldn't tell him anymore than England had and that Matthew should head straight to the source. The haunted look on England's face, however, caused Matthew to hesitate.

"Kumajirou what should I do? It's Monday and I still don't know anything" Matthew had his head on the meeting room table and his Polar Bear sitting beside his head. He didn't even have his arms as a cushion between his head and the table, instead repeatedly bringing his head back and letting it fall with a resounding 'thunk' over and over again.

"Mon Ami, you do realize that you'll hurt yourself if you keep that up" Matthew's eyes widened and he jumped upright in his seat, overbalancing the chair and falling over backwards. His legs and arms flailed everywhere and he heard the telltale sound of his brother's laughter almost immediately after he smacked his head on the floor.

He felt tears prickle at the corner of his eyes, half of pain and half of sheer embarrassment. He rolled over and off the chair, his back throbbing in pain. He winced lightly at the sound of Alfred's almost hysterical laughter and he pushed himself to his feet, pushing past his laughing brother and a slightly stunned looking Francis. The last thing he heard was a slap, no doubt from Arthur at how badly the American treated his brother.

None of that mattered. That bastard America laughed at him every chance he got unless of course he was taking advantage of him or ignoring him.

Canada managed to make it all the way back to his hotel room before realizing that he had forgotten his precious Kumajirou and let out an exasperated groan. Now he would /have/ to show his face again. He leaned up against his doorway, his forehead to the cool wood and a headache starting to form at the base of his skull.

Could today get any worse?

Matthew should have known better than to ask the one question that always makes things worse. There was a knock on the door and Canada jumped back, tripping on one of Kumajirou's chew toys and falling on his back. Somehow he had managed to hit his head twice in a matter of hours. At least this time he hadn't made an absolute fool of himself.

"Matthew! Are you in there?" Matthew turned red when he heard the voice of Francis along with another round of knocks and apparent arguing.

"Talk to him you git, it's your fault he ran off"

"Ow! Let go of my ear bastard"

"Than apologize to him"

"Fine. Just let go" Matthew heard the voice of his brother hesitate before letting out a deep sigh. "Matthew! I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed at you" To say he didn't sound sincere would be an extreme understatement. The Canadian man still lying on the floor knew that the only reason that America was apologizing was because England made him.

Matthew hesitated for a while longer after his brother had lapsed into silence before shifting up to a sitting position and sighing at the door. After about a minute, he rose to his feet and clicked the lock off the door before turning the handle. As soon as the door was opened Kumajirou instantly began to flail in Frances arms. The older man let out a small string of curses but let the bear go.

Canada couldn't help but smile as the bear jumped into his arms and nuzzled his head beneath the young mans chin. Even if he couldn't remember Canada's name he still loved him.

"I missed you too Kumajirou" he laughed as the bear began to lick his chin lightly before shifting around and putting his back to Matthew's chest to glare at the people still standing outside. Matthew had almost forgotten about the nations standing outside and blushed lightly.

"Do you guys want to come inside?" He asked with a gentle smile. Alfred shook his head and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"No. I think we need to get going" England said with small nod.

"Well thank you for bringing back Kumajirou!" Canada said happily. Offering all three of the men a wide and sincere smile. England offered his once colony and small smile and America grunted a 'no prob' before the two headed off to wherever they were headed too.

"Are you planning on staying Francis?" Canada turned his attention back to the older man; his cheeks stained a light pink.

"Mm well I heard you were asking around about my past" France said, taking a step so that he was even with the doorway. Canada immediately took a step back, averting his gaze as if his hotel room was the most interesting thing ever.

"U-uh y-y-yah" Matthew couldn't help but feel like he'd done something wrong. Francis however just let out a light laugh, which caused Matthew to snap his eyes back to Frances face. The sadness in that laugh tugged at Matthews heartstrings and he felt the urge to pull his once father figure into a tight hug.

"Do you still want to know?" His gaze fell to the floor and his arms crossed loosely over his chest. Matthew found himself nodding his head emphatically but then remembered that Francis wasn't looking at him so he spoke up.

"O-only if you want to talk a-about it" Matthew said slowly, shifting the bear in his arms and offering a small smile. France nodded gently before stepping into the room and taking a seat at the small table. Canada quickly shut the door and took a seat at the other chair at the table.

"Well I already taught you about it once" France began, fighting a small smirk "so I guess I could do it again"

"It all started during the hundred year war"

"_Sir, I am here to help"_

_Francis looked up from his work synching the saddle to his horse to see what appeared to be a woman dressed as a man standing behind him. Of course, to anyone else, it would just look like another man but France knew every one of his people, even if it was just the basics as gender and name._

"_I heard the King was sending someone but I didn't expect someone so…slight in stature" He said with a small frown, looking her up and down. "Even if you are easy on the eyes" France smirked, letting his perverted side come out, even if it was only slightly. After all, they were at a time of war. His comment caused the young girl to blush and she gapped like a fish for a while longer before shaking her head._

"_Do you want my help or not?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes. France raised his eyebrows, his smirk fading and a frown coming back._

_  
"Do you know who I am?" France wondered just who this woman was that she, or rather he as the King knew her, that she came so highly recommended._

"_Yes, you are Commander Francis Bonnefoy of the French army. I know who you are but that does not mean that I respect you" Jeanne spouted off with a slight snap to her voice. France turns around, facing the young woman for the first time since she had come to his attention. He looked her over once more with a serious expression on his face; eyes narrowed and scowl set deeply._

_Suddenly his face softened and he let out a light, cheerful laugh. "You'll do well here" he said and smacked a hand to the woman's shoulder._

"_Hopefully you can bring about a change"_

_~:~:~:~:~:~:~_

_Francis pinned the woman to the tree, his hands on either side of his head and his body keeping her there with one knee between her legs. Her eyes meeting his and the sheer lust causing her to blush a ferocious red and become unable to look away. _

"_I vote, my love, that we end this little game of I want you but the authorities would never allow it" France said, crushing their lips together and smirking gently at the moan that came from his female companion. Frances hands shifted from the rough bark of the tree to the side of the young woman's face. Francis marveled at how genuinely soft Jeanne's face was even though the trials of war._

"_Francis we can't do this" She moaned half-heartedly. Both of them knew it would end up like this, after all the sexual tension between the two had people questioning the men's sexuality._

_~:~:~:~:~:~:~_

"_Where is he?" France growled, his fist clenched in his subordinates shirt and his eyes narrowed dangerously._

"_W-who?" The soldier winces in pain as France slams the man against the tree._

"_Jeanne D'arc" Francis demands, hissing angrily._

"_The English. They captured him as we retreated. I'm sorry Sir there was nothing that we could do. He refused to retreat until every one of us was safe" He quickly explained, stumbling over the words and closing his eyes tightly as if waiting for France to hit him. Instead, he hits the ground and lets out a yelp of pain._

_**Because we all don't know whats going to happen .**_

_**Continue? Y/N**_


	3. Hurt

**Characters/Pairings: FrancexJeanne and FrancexCanada  
Rating: G  
Warning: None for this chapter  
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia**

_Francis could see the thick smoke billowing from a pyre and he felt his heart clench in anticipation. No. They couldn't do that to her. They couldn't. Arthur wouldn't do something that terrible._

_France couldn't even convince himself._

_The man took off, digging his heels into his horse and took of at a canter before urging his horse into an even faster gallop. Deep down he already knew that she was dead. He was given the news that she was being burned at the stake over a week ago and it had taken him this long to get here. This fire was just to get rid of the body. _

_France felt the tears fight their way to his eyes and he kicked the horse again, snapping the rains and leaning over the horses flowing mane. By the time he skidded to a stop before the burning embers there was almost nothing left of the wood let alone a body. France leapt of his horse and collapsed to his knees before the ashes, his hands hugging his body and his shoulders shaking with unchecked sobs._

_He was at a sheer loss for words, tears flowing down his face and his body curled up almost in half, the grief racking through his body in painful waves._

_~:~:~:~:~:~:~_

_England and France exchanged blows, swords sparking with the effort and their muscles rippling from the force of the strikes. Usually, England could beat France with one hand tied behind his back, however today France fought with intent to kill. England had a pretty good idea why._

"_Francis. Stop this for one moment" England growled through gritted teeth as they came to yet another stand still. France panted heavily and his eyes narrowed at the man before him._

"_Why should I, __Angleterre?" France managed to put more venom into that single word than England could have thought possible and even made the short haired man flinch. Francis took this momentary lapse in England's concentration and attacked, running hard at England and raising his sword._

"_Because I have something I think Jeanne wanted you to have," England said loudly. Now that got France's attention. The wide-eyed man nearly dropped his sword when England blocked and for many reasons he quite resembled a fish. Arthur would have laughed had the situation been less serious than it was._

"_This better not be some damn trick," France growled, shifting his weight back but keeping his weapon at the ready. Instead of responding, England fished through one of the small bags attached to his belt. What he pulled out had France in tears. Albeit not the heavy uncontrollable sobs he let out in private but there was moisture nonetheless._

_The light caught off the extremely plain silver cross dangling from a thin woven string. England held the necklace's string tightly in one hand, leaving the medallion to hang so France could see it._

"_I'm so sorry"_

_This time, it was Arthur's turn to cry._

France, of course, shared none of these _very _personal memories with the person sitting beside him. However, when Matthew looked up from his hands folded neatly in his lap to find out just why France hadn't answered him yet he was shocked to find France crying. The older mans shoulders shook lightly with the effort to keep himself quiet but the letting the tears flow unrestricted. One of his hands clenched tightly around the necklace. His fist so tight that the silver left a deep grove in Frances hand and Canada could almost swear he saw blood.

Canada's eyes widened and he hesitated momentarily, his body and mind unsure of what to do and instead doing nothing. Thankfully, Kumajirou came to his rescue and shifted over the table to lick at France's tears. Not really going for comfort rather than the saltiness from them.

"I'm sorry. I seem to have gotten lost in the memories" France let out a small chuckle and held his unwounded hand to Kumajirou's side, stroking the bear's fur lovingly. He used the knuckle of his other hand and brushed away the remaining tears.

"This Wednesday is the anniversary of the day Jeanne d'arc was ruthlessly murdered" France said gently, a new resolve in his voice. He had done his grieving, surprised that he had even allowed Matthew to see him so vulnerable. He did have feelings for the boy, even if he refused to let himself realize his feelings.

The thing was, he felt like he would be betraying Jeanne's memory. Making it seem like he had moved on and cared for Matthew more than he cared for her. Almost as if…as if…he'd forgotten about her.

"I'm sorry Matthew but I have to go" He said in a thicker than usually accent before rising to his feet gently and brushing off his hands on his pants. His one hand leaving a small trail of blood, though France took no notice of the fresh stain. Matthew found himself at a loss for words yet again and just nodded. Francis turned his back and laid a hand on the door handle, a deep sigh passing his lips.

"Francis wait!" Matthew finally found his voice. As soon as France turned around to look at the Canadian he was tackle hugged. There was no other way to put it as Matthew hung around the elder man's neck and buried his face in his arms.

"Matthew…what are you-"

"I'm sorry. I know I'm being stupid but I'm sorry, I should have known" Matthew cut the other man off, his face hidden in the crook of Francis' neck and a small hiccup covering a sob. France was stunned. He couldn't even react to the sudden burst of affection from the normally shy Canadian. Something, quite unlike the French man.

"I-It's quite alright Matthew. Do not worry your head over me" Francis finally managed to say as he ran his hand through Canada's silken blond locks. Matthew blushed deeply, puling back reluctantly and meeting eyes with the object of his secret affection.

The two stood in silence, gaze locked but neither betraying secret emotions for very different reasons. Finally Frances broke the gaze and looked over at Kumajirou who was doing a summersault on the floor, obviously bored with the two males talk.

"I'll see you at tomorrow's meeting" Francis finally said turning back to Matthew and finding Canada's gaze still locked on his face. Matthew blushed deeply when he found himself caught and averted his gaze. The elder nation couldn't help but smile at Matthew's blush. He honestly couldn't help but feel at peace…at least for now.


	4. Thunderstorms

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia**

To say the meeting was in chaos would have been an extreme understatement. However, as chaos was normal when it came to this group of people, actually admitting that it was chaos meant something horrible was happening. At the moment, Mother Nature had her own plans. Outside of the building a fierce thunderstorm raged. Of course, Alfred had decided on holding the meeting in Tampa Bay, Florida, which just happened to be the one place on his home soil where thunderstorms hit with the most frequency.

"CHIGI!" Romano's fearful call rang out through the room as a clap of thunder loud enough to shake the very foundations of the building. His automatic reaction was to turn to the Spaniard beside him and practically leap into the other man's lap, clinging to his fearfully. The other Italy brother's reaction was almost identical except for the fact that Germany was standing up and so he was forced to cling to him by wrapping his arms and legs tightly around the taller man's torso, nearly knocking him over.

Canada, thankfully, wasn't as afraid of thunderstorms as the two Italians and simply tensed up and screwed his eyes shut whenever a crack of lightning lit up the room. Between bolts, Matthew looked up at his brother who was trying to keep some sort of order. Alfred should have known better. After all, the room they were sitting in had large panes of glass on two out of the four walls and thus made it feel like they were out in the storm themselves.

"Guys calm down!" America frowned deeply, holding up his hands palm out in the universal gesture of 'my bad'. "Be happy it isn't a hurricane! It'll be over in a bit. Promise" He said quickly, debating with himself on whether he should call the meeting to a close in order to resume later.

The groups of countries were currently in the Grand Hyatt's large meeting room. The Hyatt being, of course, one of America's most luxurious hotels meant that Alfred was showing off just how good he had it. Though no one was really impressed, at least enough to admit it. America had even paid for each country to stay in the hotel albeit in pairs.

Canada couldn't help but smile a little when America had decided to let the countries go back to their respective rooms. Instructing them to return in two hours, having been told by his assistant that the storm would be over by then. As the countries dispersed, England scolding America yet again for picking such a stupid spot for them to have a meeting, Canada watched contently.

At one of the particularly loud claps of thunder shook the building, Canada buried his face in the fur of his polar bear and tensed his body against the rolling noise. Matthew had gotten used to the noise that accompanied the flashes and had even come to find some of the lightning strikes to be rather beautiful. To say he had a love/hate relationship would be an accurate statement.

So, instead of leaving with the other countries he decided to stay and watch the storm as it happened through the clear glass. What Canada wasn't expecting was that someone would stay in the room with him.

"It is beautiful, non?" that thick French accent met Matthew's ears and he almost fell out of his seat. "I do not get many thunderstorms at home, as you know" France smiled serenely, his gaze locked on the windows. Canada was so absorbed in looking at the man before him that he didn't even flinch when the thunder struck again. Finally, Canada tore his gaze from Francis and gazed back outside, a blush spreading over his cheeks.

Matthew felt like he was going insane. After knowing exactly why France was so hurt and not knowing what exactly how the other man was going to behave tomorrow. He knew it wasn't going to be pretty that was for sure. Canada looked down at Kumajirou and ran a hand over the bear's head as he let out a frustrated sigh. Then it hit Canada like a ton of bricks.

If Matthew knew anything about Francis, he was still in love with Jeanne even if he didn't or wouldn't admit it.

Canada didn't stand a chance.

Canada rose from his seat, Kumajirou in his arms, and slowly walked out of the room all the while trying not to bring any unwanted attention upon himself from the man dominating his thoughts. However, France looked up momentarily and even thought about saying something but decided against it, turning to look back at the storm outside.

Matthew walked down the hallway quietly, heading to the hotels bar and for all intents and purposes planning on getting smashed. Something he would normally never even consider. But then again, it wasn't every day that you realized your heart would be broken before you even had the chance to feel any joy.

On his way Canada dropped Kumajirou off in his room, deciding that a polar bear would draw far to much attention from the other patrons and not wanting to deal with it. Once he had taken a seat at the bar, the blond haired man pulled a small piece of elastic and tied his hair back loosely, not wanting to deal with it at the moment. After all, he was always told that his hair resembled Frances and right now that thought made him feel sick to his stomach.

The Bartender set down the nations Budweiser as soon as Matthew proved two things. Yes he was over 21, and yes he was actually staying at the hotel. Canada frowned deeply, his blue eyes glazing over as the alcohol hit his system and his thumb gently tracing around the rim between sips.

He was momentarily distracted by the maniacal laughter of Prussia as he ran by with his partner in crime of the moment Cuba. Matthew frowned lightly as he narrowed his eyes at whatever Gilbo was holding but decided against asking, letting the two run off to do whatever they were planning on doing. All Canada's alcohol inflicted brain could figure was that whatever the two were doing wouldn't end well and he hoped that they weren't doing it in the room he and Cuba were sharing. Canada gasped lightly when he caught sight of his brother heading over towards him and quickly turned back to the bar, downing his glass and making a face before ordering another.

"Cana-Matthew, what are you doing here? I thought you were at the meeting room," America asked with a gentle sigh, taking a seat beside his almost identical brother and ordering a Sam Adams. He had almost forgotten that they weren't allowed to refer to each other by anything except their human names when they were out of the meeting room.

"I should ask you the same thing" Canada offered a small smile before his blue gaze fell to the fresh drink before him, eyes far away. He really wasn't surprised that America hadn't realized that he wasn't at the meeting. Actually, he would have been really surprised if anyone had missed him. America let out a bark of laughter before deciding just how to respond.

"It was Ivan. He brought up Communism again and you remember what happened last time" America began and paused in his explaining just long enough for both siblings to shudder deeply. "Well anyway, they told me to go get something to drink while they talked it over and well…yah…here I am" America smiled widely, looking at Canada over the rims of his glasses.

"So what's your story?" Alfred pushed again, taking a deep swig from his bottle and letting his ever-present smile shine through.

"I'm in love with Francis and he's in love with someone else" Canada sighed, setting his chin on the counter and not even blinking when Alfred nearly choked on his alcohol. The elder of the two's eyes went wide and he looked down at his brother as though he had only truly seen him for the first time.

"W-what?" Alfred spluttered, grabbing a few napkins and cleaning up the mess he had made. He studied the other mail for any sign that he was pulling his leg but found that he was dead serious. Alfred turned to the bartender and asked how many beer's Matthew had had and sighed deeply when he was told four.

"I love him so much it hurts. But he's in love with Jeanne" Canada said, his hands clenched around the glass so tightly that his knuckles turned white with the pressure. "What am I supposed to do Alfred?" Matthew choked back a sob, his eyes closing tightly and his head sinking as his gaze fell.

Alfred felt his heartstrings tug at the drunken man beside him, for once not thinking of a way to exploit or torture Matthew with this new information. Alfred frowned lightly, tearing his gaze away from the other male and taking a deep swig of his alcohol. That was when a wide smirk stretched his lips and a dangerous glint came to his eye.

"Don't worry. I have a plan"

Despite the fact that the alcoholic beverages had practically eliminated all of the Canadian's ability for higher thinking, he still had a sinking feeling that he wouldn't like this one but.

**The next chapter will probably cover just what Cuba and Prussia were doing while the other nations were all in the meetings ^^**

**Read and Review please!**


	5. Side Story

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia

Prussia's grin widened at the sight of the thunderstorm outside and he turned to his new Cuban friend with a fresh glint in his eye. Cuba couldn't help but frown lightly at Gilbo and took a drag out of his cigar, hesitant to enquire just what Prussia was thinking as he rightfully should be. Unfortunately, his curiosity got the better of him and he finally spoke up.

"What are you planning?" Cuba asked with his mouth set in a deep frown before he released the foul smelling smoke lightly. Prussia's smirk just got larger, if that was possible, and he let out a small chuckle.

"Do you know what happens when sand is struck by lightning?" The dangerous look in Prussia's eye told Cuba that he would know very soon.

~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Now, the only reason that Prussia had even known that Cuba existed was for one very simple reason. America. That jackass had decided that since Prussia wasn't technically a country anymore, he wasn't allowed to take part in the meetings. However, since Ludwig had claimed that he would take responsibility for anything he did, he had been allowed to come to Florida. When it came to Cuba, everyone and their mother knew just how bad the relationship between him and America was and so it was a surprise that he had even been allowed to come. However, Canada had taken a similar stand as Germany and thus the dark haired man was allowed to stay.

Seeing as they were the only two not allowed inside the meeting room, they had struck up a quick friendship, albeit an odd one. Before Cuba could even blink, Prussia had changed into an all black outfit and had pinned himself against the wall. Cuba almost abandoned his plan right then and there when he heard Gilbo humming the James Bond theme to himself and saw that the albino's hands were together to make a 'gun'.

Gilbo was lucky he was so bored. As the pale man made his way down the hallway, doing summersaults and acting like an overall fool, Cuba simply shook his head lightly and fallowed after him with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Once outside, Cuba and Prussia both looked up at the pouring rain while sheltered beneath the awning of the hotels entrance. Cuba hadn't noticed before, but Gilbert had a large black book bag with what looked like large metal poles wrapped in a thin fabric. Something gave Cuba the suspicion that Prussia had done this before.

"You sure you want to do this?" Cuba asked with a raised eyebrow before dropping the butt of his cigar and stamping it out with the heel of his shoe. Gilbert frowned lightly but nodded.

"Hell yah!" He said before taking off at a sprint.

"Hey wait up!" Cuba yelled after the other man, taking off at a sprint as well. Thankfully, the beach was only a couple of blocks from the hotel but even so both men were soaked to the bone by the time they reached the soft sand. Prussia smirked widely as he slipped the book bag off of his shoulder and dropped it in the sand before pulling out the metal poles, leaving the fabric and bag discarded on the ground. Before heading off on the sand, Prussia held out one of the poles to Cuba but was promptly turned down.

With a small 'suit yourself' he was off, running around the sand and jamming the metal into the ground at random intervals. Just based on the way he was doing it, Cuba could almost hear him singing another theme song to himself, maybe the Mission Impossible one this time.

God, Prussia was such a dork.

In about ten minutes, Prussia ran back to where Cuba was still standing and panted softly all the while beaming as if he was proud of himself. Before Cuba could speak he found himself tugged on the arm over to a small wooden overhanging that he hadn't noticed before by his companion of the night.

"We'll have the best view here" He explained as he plopped down on the ground, shaking out his hair as his red eyes shined with excitement. Cuba looked out at the metal poles sticking out of the ground and frowned lightly to himself. He had no idea if this was going to work but figured he didn't have much say in the matter. The larger Cuban opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Prussia suddenly jumping up and running out into the storm to grab the book bag he had left in the pouring rain.

When the other man came back, Cuba opened his mouth to speak a third time but was cut off yet again. This time however it was by a huge bolt of lightening hitting one of the poles directly. He nearly fell over when he felt the heat hit his face and the thunder rumble the earth instantly.

"That was fucking awesome!" Prussia yelled happily, having jumped up from his chair and pumping a fist victoriously in the air. Cuba shook his head lightly but soon found himself laughing. What could he say? Prussia's excitement was extremely contagious.

"I take it you've done this before?" Cuba asked once he had stifled his laugh. Prussia nodded emphatically.

"Twice. Once when I was little and again not too long ago when I was on a trip with Ludwig!" Prussia explained happily. He managed to calm himself down enough to return to a seated position and rummaged through his book bag for something else. He quickly found what he was looking for. He pulled out two bags of chips and bottles of water.

After all, they may be there for a while. Prussia hadn't thought of checking the weather before he left. About an hour and a half later, the thunderstorm finally let up and Cuba was woken up by Prussia pushing on his shoulder rather roughly. When Cuba finally opened his eyes, still half asleep, he noticed that Prussia had a rather larger shovel in his hands. Cuba let out a small off as another shovel was dropped onto his chest and sat up, massaging the spot lightly.

"What's the shovel for?" Cuba asked curiously, still not knowing what the heck they were doing other than standing outside and watching the lightning strike the sand. But Prussia just shook his head as his grin stretched his face.

"You'll see," he said with chuckle as he headed over to the nearest pole. He pulled out the metal rod quickly and threw it in the general direction of their shelter where his book bag was still sitting. He then dug a small circle around where the pole had been before dropping to his knees and digging out what looked like a large piece of glass.

It was no glass that Cuba had ever seen. It was so clear that he could see Prussia's hand behind it as if there was nothing there. Not only that, but the glass was twisted in a way he hadn't seen, almost like the horns of a deer but twistier. If that was a word. Cuba hesitantly held out a hand, almost afraid that if he touched it, the glass would shatter into a million pieces.

"Haha! Its not that fragile" Gilbo smirked, tossing the glass at Cuba and laughing loudly as the other male fumbled with the glass and managed to hold it in. Before Cuba could say anything, Prussia had run off and had dove at the next pole and began to dig up the next sculpture.

Cuba smiled gently at the sculpture in his arms as if he was going to shatter it. No matter what Prussia said he was going to make sure that he didn't break it. After watching the Prussian man dig around furiously for around a half an hour, Prussia finally came back, his arms filled with the odd glass. He set down the glass momentarily to slip his book bag back on. He then scooped up the statues and led Cuba back into the city.

The two walked in silence, Prussia with a large smile on his face and Cuba with a slightly curious one. He honestly wanted to know what Prussia was planning on doing with these sculptures. After all, they were a bit bulky and hard to carry. Thankfully, Cuba had only been told to carry the one and so it wasn't too awkward for him. Finally, Prussia led them to a small store that sold sculptures. By the time they left, their arms were considerably lighter and their wallets heavier.

"That was an easy 200 bucks" Prussia smirked widely again as he shifted one of the two remaining statues beneath their arms.

"So what are you going to do with that?" Cuba asked with a raised eyebrow. He was pretty sure that he was going to give his to Canada seeing as the boy had been feeling down lately. Of course, no one had noticed but then again Cuba paid attention much more than other people did.

"Hmmm. I dunno" Gilbo said as his smile faded slightly as he tried to think of what he would do with his statue. Prussia couldn't help but blush lightly at the thought of a certain brunette with a frying pan issue that he knew would love a statue like this. However, as soon as they reached the entrance to the hotel, Gilbo's energy was back. He couldn't help but laugh maniacally and run through the lobby and back towards his room with Cuba on his heels.

Thankfully he wasn't singing the mission imposible theme song…or worse.

God XD Writing Gilbo as a dork was so much fun


	6. Plotting Away

**I do not own Hetalia!**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter~**

Alfred was in his element, his mind working up different ways that Matthew could confess his love for Francis and not get his heart broken. Honestly, no matter how cruel he acted towards Matthew, he really didn't want to see his baby brother hurt. Canada had long since left the bar but America had instead decided to get ready tonight and set the plan for action tomorrow.

First, he would have to check with a few people to make sure that there even was a way too keep his brother's heart intact. He was almost positive that he wouldn't find anything negative seeing as he had yet to find someone, other than himself, who could refuse Matthew when he was using his pouty face.

Then it hit Alfred like a ton of bricks. If no one could resist Matthew when he was pouting at them, what would happen if….? Yes that was perfect! _I'm so awesome! _Alfred jumped up from the stool he was sitting on and ran off, leaving a half full beer behind much to the complaint of the bartender. Before he knew it, he was before the room England and France shared and was knocking (more like pounding) on the door. The only reason he and England hadn't been sharing one was because someone had too keep Francis in check and Arthur happened to be the most proficient at it.

"Iggy open up! I know you're in there!" Alfred called out, pounding once more on the door. His rapid knocking was cut off however when the door was flung open and a rather pissed off looking England wearing nothing but a pair of Union Jack boxers glared at America angrily.

"Do you know what bloody sodding time it is?" Arthur demanded, his green eyes flashing angrily. America, however, was in no shape to reply. His blue-eyed gaze having trailed downward to catch just what England was wearing and causing quite a blush to break out. Finally, using all of his willpower, America managed to stammer a response.

"N-No…what time is it?" He asked, forcing his eyesight back up and locking on the green eyes that conveyed just how angry he was.

"Two fucking o'clock in the morning" Arthur 's gaze softened, the anger at being woken up fading slightly as the sleep fought to claim him once more. "What do you need so bloody badly?" He asked, raising one hand to his mouth to politely cover a yawn. Alfred felt as if his brain was working in slow motion as he fought to keep his attention away from Arthur's lack of clothing.

"Need?" He asked slowly, raising an eyebrow. Then he remembered. "Oh yah!" He said, a wide smile breaking over his face causing the Britton to roll his eyes in an annoyed manner. "What time does Francis get back tomorrow?" He asked, his eyes sparkling mischievously. Had England been completely awake he would have noticed said glint and would have demanded answers, but all his brain wanted to know was when he would be getting back to sleep.

"His plane lands at-" He was cut off by a large yawn but continued as if nothing had happened. "Three o'clock tomorrow afternoon" Arthur said with a nod, as if pleased with himself at getting out the words. Francis had left directly after the meetings had concluded that day at around five.

"Do you want to go out to dinner with me? Maybe go to see a movie?" America asked quickly, causing the British man before him to stand there blankly for a moment while his brain processed what had just happened. When the pieces finally clicked in his head his emerald eyes went wide and a furious blush covered his cheeks and spread to his ears.

"W-What?!" England demanded. However, when America opened his mouth to repeat himself Arthur cut him off. "I heard you dolt, what makes you think I'd want to go on a date with you?" He frowned, crossing his arms and looking anywhere but the taller man standing outside of his room.

"Please Iggy? Just once?" Alfred said, putting his hands together in a pleading manner. Arthur managed to turn a couple of shades darker before finally just giving in.

"Fine! I'll go with you," He said with a defeated sigh, braving a look at America's face. What he saw was exactly what he expected. The younger nation had a grin so wide that it split his face and he looked as if England has just made his day. Which he probably just did.

"Thank you! We'll leave after the meetings," Alfred said happily as he took Arthur's hand in his own and had to contain his energy or he would be jumping up and down.

Normally, the meetings would last all day and well into the evening. Recently, however, the nations had gotten into the habit of cutting the Thursday meetings short so that if they were planning on heading home for the three day weekend they always took they could leave Thursday afternoon and have the full three days to relax or meet with their superiors.

"I never said it was a date!" Alfred smirked widely as he took off down the hall towards his room. He heard the door to Arthur's room slam and chuckled deeply, knowing that Arthur was cursing up a storm as he fell asleep and not really caring.

Right now, he had some planning to do.

~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Canada frowned, kicking his feet back and forth with his stomach doing flips. It was _that_ day and Matthew didn't know just how much more of this he could stand. They had a meeting today but no one was surprised to find that Francis was absent from the proceedings. They acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

They weren't even fooling themselves.

There were a few days of the year that the countries all felt should be respected and thus a blind eye was turned when certain nations were absent on said days. The anniversary of the death of the Romanov family for Russia, The anniversary of the death of Princess Diana for England, the anniversary of the death of Jeanne D'arc for France, along with a few others. On these days no one expected the nations to show up, instead allowing the person the freedom to grieve as they saw fit. It was sort of an unwritten rule.

Canada let his gaze fall to the bear before him and just zone out. He wasn't going to be called on to contribute anything anyway so he didn't see the point. His head was still pounding from the immense drinking the previous day and so Canada was finding it hard to concentrate on much. Though, one thought continued to push its way to the front.

_He's in pain. You need to go to him._

Ok, so technically it was two thoughts but Matthew was in no condition to really care. Instead he simply shook his head and tried to push the thought away but only found it made his headache worse. With every moment that Canada didn't move, he could feel his conscience getting heavier. He could remember all of the times when he was younger and France had taken care of him. Before he could fall into a bout of reminiscing, Kumajirou demanded his attention. Canada opened his eyes slowly and frowned in a way that asked what was wrong.

"Its hot" The bear frowned and crossed his arms. Matthew wasn't too worried about anyone overhearing his bear speaking. After all, no one noticed either of them normally so why should they now. Canada slowly rose to his feet, only to find a pair of eyes fallowing him out. Matthew scanned the room to find that of all people his _brother _was the one watching him go. Now that was odd.

The northern brother shook it off as simple curiosity however and continued out, not surprised one but when Alfred didn't speak up. Canada walked down the hallway in complete silence with only his bear and his footsteps to accompany him. He was quickly at his door and fumbled around in his pocket momentarily for the key before pushing his way in.

As soon as a cold blast of air hit Matthew, the Canadian instantly felt better. Being so far away from home and in this ungodly heat Alfred called 'natural' was definitely taking its told on the male as well as his polar bear. Initially, the room temperature had been in a bit of a conflict having one person from so far north and the other from even further south. However, Kumajirou overruled them both and had set the temperature to his normal and then promptly broke the gauge so no one else could change it. Not that Canada was complaining.

So Cuba had decided that he would spend as much time outside of the room as possible, only going back inside to sleep and in doing that using three down comforters in addition to the normal sheets. Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem since cold loving nations usually roomed together (Finland and Sweden for example) but Cuba and Canada were a special case.

The blond haired man let out a light sigh as he took a seat on the bed as his mind wandered back to the predicament involving France. No doubt the man had already flown back to his homeland and was doing only god knew what while Canada was stuck here.

The previous day's conversation with his brother was slightly…ok…really fuzzy and he honestly couldn't remember anything that his brother hand bounced off of him. So later, once his head was clearer and the alcohol was just starting to loose its hold on him, Matthew had sought the help of the person who knew France the best. Canada closed his eyes as he remembered the conversation and let out a deep sigh.

"_Yes. He still loves her. But honestly he should move on already. She's been dead for over five hundred years and its time" England grumbled, crossing his legs and taking the chance to sip at his tea. Canada just looked at his feet, arms crossed uncomfortably over his chest in the absence of Kumajirou._

"_D-Do you think I stand a chance?" Canada asked, his face unable to heat up any more. Whether it was from the sheer embarrassment of explaining his feelings to Arthur of all people or the alcohol, or even perhaps both, his face had been bright red for over an hour. England took this chance to look up from his tea and studied his once colony with narrowed eyes._

"_I don't know why you'd ever be interested in that toad but I'd have to say if anyone were to snap him out of his grief it would be you" England let out a deep sigh and rolled his eyes before sipping his tea again._

At least England thought that he stood a chance. America probably did too since he had offered…well…decided to help. Offered would insinuate that Canada had a say in the matter. Matthew let out a light groan, digging the palms of his hands into his eyes in a frustrated gesture. Why did this have to be so hard?

"Matthew! Open up! Its time!" Matthew nearly threw up. All of the sudden he was having second thoughts about the plan Alfred had discussed with him earlier but knowing that he couldn't back out now. So instead, he just grabbed a couple of Advil from the table and downed them quickly.

He had the feeling he was going to need it.


	7. A Plan In Motion

**Blegh, short but I hope you like it**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia~**

"Here drink this. You'll need it" Alfred said with a wide smirk as Canada made his way out of his room. Canada frowned deeper, his flight instinct blaring so badly at him that it took all of his resolve to just stay here. His hands shook horribly as he reached out to take the flask from his older sibling. If he made it through this without throwing up, he…well…he didn't know what he'd do.

Canada quickly downed the contents of the flask and his head started to spin. This was definitely some strong stuff.

"Alright, be brave Matthew!" Alfred chuckled, pounding on the door before taking off town the hallway. The shorter Canadian glared at the tux clad elder of the two and let out a small 'humph'. America had told Arthur that they would meet at the front entrance where Alfred would then lead them away on their adventure. It would be nothing less than that when it involved the two of them.

"Salut, Mai-je vous aider?" France's smooth voice met Canada's already alcohol addled brain and the younger man blushed darkly as his gaze returned to the task at hand. Apparently, France had yet to click back his brain into English since he had landed. Thankfully, Canada could speak the foreign language just as well as English and had no problem understanding.

"No, I was just wondering if we could talk" Canada said, making sure he met France's eyes, one of the specific points that Alfred had discussed with him. Francis raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow and frowned lightly before nodding, deciding that Canada had something he was serious about.

France nodded before taking a step back from the doorway to let Matthew come inside the otherwise empty room. Canada folded his hands in front of him nervously and fidgeted nervously. France clicked the door shut behind them and turned around to face Matthew, a wide smile on his face and a new air about him. As if a heavy burden had been lifted.

Canada, of course, knew better. Francis was till hurting and with the help of alcohol Matthew was going to help him move on.

"Now what would you like to talk about, Matthew?" Francis asked, slowly walking back over to the bed and slowly sitting down, letting out a small groan of exhaustion as he kicks off his shoes. Alfred had made sure that Matthew would catch Francis just as he was getting back to the hotel and would be, hopefully, at his most susceptible.

Instead of responding, Matthew instead strode over to where Francis was sitting and quickly straddled Francis' lap. As the elder nation turned his head back to see what Matthew was planning on doing, the younger nation put a hand to France's face and pushed their lips together in an unskilled but well-intentioned kiss.

Canada's eyes slid shut just before their lips had met while France's had gone wide. He had not expected this from the normally shy Canadian. However, he wasn't complaining. The more experienced of the two leaned back slowly, slipping his arms around Matthew's waist to make sure he fallowed. Francis allowed his eyes to slip closed as he ran his hand up Matthew's hoodie slowly, trailing up his spine. The shutter that fallowed might as well have been a green light to the elder of the two.

Francis slowly rolled over, letting him take a position on top, while simultaneously trailing his tongue over the other nation's earning him a soft moan. Finally, Francis snapped out of his lull and opened his eyes lightly, pulling away gently and breaking the kiss. He used his hands, one on each side of Matthew's head, to push himself up and away no matter how much his body screamed at him for being an idiot.

"This is more than talking, non?" Francis said, a small smirk playing at his lips. Canada however couldn't bring himself to look at the nation above him; his face bright red and his breath coming in slightly hampered gasps. Francis lifted one of the hands supporting him off the bed and stroking the side of Canada's face in an attempt to make him more comfortable. Though, based on the fact that he was straddling the smaller nation he doubted that Matthew would be calming down anytime soon.

"Why are you doing this Matthew?" He asked gently, his deep voice having more of an effect on Canada than he realized. Matthew refused to look at him though and instead attempted to use his voice.

"I…I really like you" Matthew said as his face turned, if possible, three shades darker. "I have for a…long, long time" He murmured, squirming beneath the older man, nerves making him a bit queasy. Francis sighed lightly, rolling off of Matthew and leaning up against the headboard.

"I'm sorry but I can't return your feelings" Francis said, now his turn to avoid the younger man's gaze. Matthew slowly sat up, feeling his heart break a little. However, he had a mission and depending on how he approached this could end well or worse than he could even imagine. The only reason he could even think about taking this risk was because his brother had threatened him with pain of death if he didn't.

"I-I know that you still love her" He started slowly, forcing his stammer back through sheer will power. He shifted to a sitting position, sitting on his knees and placing his hands on his thighs. "B-b-but aren't you disrespecting her more b-by not letting her rest in peace?" Canada forged forward, earning an angry shocked look from the hurt nation.

"And what are you insinuating? That I should just forget her?" France hissed through clenched teeth, his hands tight in fists and his whole body tense. Canada bit his lip lightly, trying to force back his fear this time.

"No!" He said quickly, shaking his head lightly. "I-I just meant that if she's up there, w-watching over you. Don't you think it hurts her to see you grieving? After all this t-t-time?" Matthew forced his words out, trying to fix things between the two of them before they could spiral out of control. The silence that fallowed felt horrible from Matthew's point of view, almost as if it was going to suffocate him if he didn't break it.

"I'm sorry" He said the first thing that had come to his mind, his gaze falling away from the elder man and to his hands. The silence consumed him once again and Matthew felt the telltale prickle of tears trying to force their way out. He fought with all of his mental might however, having promised himself earlier that crying was the one thing he wouldn't do.

"Get out" The sound of that voice that had once caused Canada so much joy did exactly the opposite this time. He let out a small hiccup and jumped to his feet, clenching his shirt over his heart lightly as if that would help the pain.

"I understand" He forced out too quickly, slurring the words. "I'll…leave you alone than" he said, flinging open the door and sprinting down the hallway towards his room. France said nothing, his fists clenched on the sheets and his eyes dull and far away.

Canada fumbled with the keys in his pocket but pushed his way in quickly. Thankfully, Cuba was out running around with whoever so he was left in peace with his bear. He collapsed onto his bed, kicking off his shoes and burying into the covers and sobbing unchecked. Kumajirou poked his head under the covers, shocked by the sudden return of his master (who's name escaped him at the moment) and deciding to investigate.

"I'm sorry Kumajirou, I must be making a fool out of myself," He said, wiping away the tears but finding them being quickly replaced by fresh ones. "I can't help it. It hurts" He finished in a whisper, his eyes slowly closing. The polar bear frowned lightly before shifting onto the bed, snuggling close to his master and doing the only thing he knew how to do to make him feel better.

Matthew slowly wrapped his arms around the bear and burying his face into the bear's soft fur.

This was definitely not the way he had figured things would happen.


	8. Welcomed Distraction

**Disclaimer: Do not own Hetalia~**

Matthew had never realized just how good of a friend Cuba was until now, mostly because the only reason Canada was even considering moving was because of said man. Cuba had come back that night to find Matthew still curled up in a ball beneath the thin sheets and instantly knew something was wrong. Matthew never grieved, at least not like this. Cuba settled down beside the curled up Canadian, making sure not to sit on his pet and putt a hand on Matthew's shoulder.

"What happened?" Cuba asked slowly, not knowing if he should pry but knowing that he couldn't just leave it alone. The two sat in silence for a while, only broken by the sniffle from the smaller of the two. Finally, Matthew worked up the energy to speak.

"I've been rejected," He said, his voice breaking over the word rejected and his speech muffled by the sheets and fur of Kumajirou. Cuba frowned lightly, before sighing lightly. He shifted to a standing position and brushed off his shorts lightly.

"I have something for you. I've been meaning to give it to you but I keep forgetting" Cuba said as he walked over to the closet and opened the door slowly. A small, satisfied, smile came to his face as he watched Canada pull back the covers and look at him with an honest curiosity. However, the smile faded when he saw just how red his eyes were from the tears.

Cuba gently lifted up the glass sculpture and he hid it in front of him, walking backwards to where Canada was laying. When he got close enough he turned around, honestly pleased at the small gasp that had come from the Canadian.

"I-It's beautiful," Canada stammered, sitting up slowly and rubbing the remaining tears away with the heels of his hands. To his surprise, Cuba sat at the end of the bed in a cross-legged seat and set the glass on the bed before him.

"F-F-For me?" He asked, his eyes wide and with a small shimmer of hope in them. Cuba nodded, a gentle smile coming to his face. Canada was so cute, even if he had been crying for probably a really long time. Cuba honestly didn't think of Canada in any impure way however, considering him as more of a brother than a love interest.

"Thank you" Matthew murmured, his voice low and a shaky hand reaching out to touch the glass almost afraid to break it. Cuba gently reached out a hand to ruffle the Canadian's hair before getting up and flipping on the bedside lamp and taking a seat on his own bed. The light only added to the splendor of the glass, sending shimmers of light around the room and causing Canada to break into the smallest of smiles, his mind sufficiently distracted. For now.

Cuba decided that this was his best chance to get to sleep and so decided that he would get ready and do just that.

When he woke up the next morning it was to an obnoxious pounding on the door that he knew could only be coming from one person. Cuba quickly buried himself deep into the multiple down comforters, groaning lightly. It was too early for that bastard to be waking him up. Cuba grumbled to himself but rolled over, planning with all intents and purposes to open the door just to slam it in Alfred's face.

Thankfully Canada got up before him and he could just ignore it for now. Most likely the only reason Canada had done so was because he had figured if Cuba had gotten up things wouldn't have ended peacefully and only caused more drama. Even if most of the nations had gone home, the meetings being officially done. They were trying out a new way of having the meetings, instead of one really long meeting at the same place every time they would have a period of shorter meetings over the course of two weeks at a different place each time. Where the meetings were held rotated around between the major countries that could support a gathering of such magnitude.

Matthew sighed lightly and grabbed his key before opening the door, leaving Cuba to fall back to sleep quickly. Outside, Canada leaned against the doorway, rubbing his eye half in sleep and half in an attempt to keep himself from crying again. Thanks to Cuba's gift he had managed to sleep, albeit fitfully, through the night. Despite this fact there were still large bags beneath Canada's eyes that he could do nothing to hide.

"So how'd it go?" Alfred asked brightly, a wide smile on his face. Canada gave him a blank look. A look that said everything. Could he possibly be that clueless? Wait…it was Alfred so yes, he was.

"How do you think?" Canada stifled a sniff and turned, fumbling with his key and trying to escape from his idiotic brother. However, he heard a sigh from behind him and he knew Alfred had finally gotten it. He choked back a sob, leaning his head against the cool door and closing his eyes tightly.

"I'm sorry Matty…I should have known," He said slowly, wrapping his arms around Canada's neck gently and resting his chin on his brother's shoulder.

"Yah, you s-should have. I never should have listened to y-you. H-he hates m-m-me and I-," Matthew was forced to stop as his voice refused to continue steadily. Canada didn't move away however and just stood there in the southern sibling's embrace, his shoulders shaking with each sob and his fists clenched at his sides.

"Come on Matty, let's go somewhere. Get Kumajirou I think he'll like it too" Alfred said slowly, pulling back and letting Matthew open the door and return with his polar bear. The elder of the two broke out in a wide smile and then led the younger outside and into a taxi, directing the man to take them to Spook Hill in Lake Wales. To say Matthew was confused would be an extreme understatement.

"Where are we going Alfred?" He asked slowly, a deep frown etched in his face. This better not be something scary or Canada was likely to take out his pent up frustrations on the elder man.

"You'll see" Alfred chuckled deeply, his attention focused on the buildings flying by. It was early enough on a Friday that there were almost no cars out so he was almost positive that Kumajirou wouldn't cause any commotion. The drive took about an hour and a half but seemed like nothing to the longer haired blond, seeing as he had fallen into a fitful sleep once more.

"Matty, Matty, wake up!" Alfred's wide smile was the first thing Matthew saw when he woke up. Matthew let out a small groan and rubbed his neck to try and rid himself of the small kink. Sleeping in a car was not comfortable at all.

"Where are we?" Matthew asked with a wide yawn, scooping Kumajirou into his arms and fallowing his brother out of the cab and into the forest around him, this didn't look like Florida at all, more like his home in the middle of summer. Though the heat was a bit more than he was used too.

"Its called Spook Hill. And don't worry. Its not scary at all!" He said, the wide smile still on his face as he led his brother to what appeared to be a white line painted on what looked like a small hill. Matthew frowned and raised his eyebrow lightly; they had driven an hour and a half for this?

"Watch" was all America said as he pulled a small marble from his jacket pocket and set it on the ground in front of the line. Canada's jaw dropped when he saw the marble go _uphill_. How was that possible? Alfred, instead of watching the marble watched Canada's reaction.

Of course, America knew that this was all just an optical illusion, having been here when he was younger, but he figured it would help Matthew feel at least a little better. Give him something else to think about, distract him so to speak. Alfred quickly took off after the marble and caught up, scooping it up into his hand with one deft motion before coming back to where Matthew was standing placing the marble in his brother's hand.

"You try," He said gently. Matthew did as he was told and a small smile came to his face. Matthew was smarter than Alfred was and so had already figured out how the illusion worked but was eager to find any way to distract himself and so played along with his brother. Alfred continued pulling out other random objects out of his pockets and all three of them, Kumajirou included, spent most of the day there. The only one being truly fooled being the Polar Bear.

"Do you wanna go for ice cream?" Alfred asked, a smile coming to his face. He knew that they would have to walk to catch a cab but figured that they could stop for ice cream on the way. Matthew nodded, opening his arms for Kumajirou and fallowing his brother in silence. The smile on his face fading as his mind wandered back to the previous day's events. Alfred noticed the sadness on his brother's face but kept silent until they both had ice cream in their hands.

"I'm sorry Matty" He managed to say gently, licking the ice cream cone and trying to hide his embarrassment. Matthew nearly dropped his ice cream right then and there had he not loved the cool treat so much. Kumajirou took this momentary lapse in attention to his advantage and stole a lick of the chocolate flavored ice cream happily.

"Y-your sorry?" Matthew asked, unable to believe that his brother would actually be apologizing for something. Alfred nodded and looked down at the strawberry cone in his hand, avoiding his sibling's gaze.

"Yah. I mean, if I wouldn't have said anything and made you confront him you wouldn't be hurting like this and I know I meant well but still…I hate seeing you hurt like this" Alfred half rambled, not looking up from his ice cream and stuffing his free hand into his pockets. He felt horrible, more so because he had had a great outing with Arthur the previous day and hadn't even thought back to what could have been happening between Matthew and Francis.

"Its alright" Matthew said, a sad lost look on his face as he licked at the ice cream half heatedly. Alfred however, wouldn't accept that and frowned deeply and looked up at Matthew again, his blue eyes narrowed intensely.

"No. It's not alright! Matthew I've never seen you like this. You weren't even this bad when Kumajirou ran away and you came to me in hysterics" Alfred said, flinging his arms around animatedly, not realizing that he was still holding his ice cream and watching helplessly as it fell off his cone and hit the ground with a small plop. Both North American siblings looked down at the ice cream with a blank expression for a moment before Canada let out a small chuckle, one that quickly escalated into full-blown laughter. Matthew quickly set down Kumajirou and gave the bear the rest of his ice cream so he wouldn't drop it and clutched his sides, laughing uncontrollably.

Alfred chuckled lightly along with his brother though even he could hear that Matthew's laughter was hollow. More of an outburst of pent up emotions than anything else. Alfred's intuition was confirmed when the laughter turned into sobs and Matthew had doubled over, arms wrapped around himself and the sobs shaking his body. Alfred quickly dropped to his knees beside his brother and wrapped his arms around him, satisfied only when Matthew had returned the embrace.

"It hurts so much Alfred. I-I don't know what to do," He said, his sobs coming unchecked as he buried his face into his brother's furry bomber jacket.

"Shhh, Matthew. It's ok. Everything will get better I promise" He said as he stroked the back of Matthew's sweater with a gloved hand. The two stayed like that for a while before the Canadian man pulled himself together enough for Alfred to call a cab. The two spent the entire ride back to the hotel in silence and went their separate ways.

Alfred swore to himself that he was going to make things right between France and his brother, if it was the last thing he did. This time, he was going to enlist some help.

Thankfully the next round of meetings were at Spain's house so they would have plenty of free time to plan.

**From what I've found through research Spook Hill is actually kind of lame but I figured it would be the perfect thing for Alfred to take Matthew too. I don't really see Matthew as a big attraction sort of person. Especially if he couldn't bring Kumajirou with him.**

**Meh...my head hurts .**

**Anyway, Read and Review please~!**


	9. Spain

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia: Axis Powers. If I did there would be a little more BL and a little less historical accuracy 3**

"Alright everybody, Siesta time" Antonio said with a wide smile, clapping his hands together happily and letting the people disperse. America's grin widened as the group began to leave one by one or in pairs of two, heading back inside. Alfred jumped up and quickly caught up with Arthur, tugging on his sleeve lightly. Arthur turned around, blushed lightly before stiffening when he realized whom it was.

"What do you bloody want?" Arthur asked slowly, his green eyes narrowed. Alfred paused, hesitating and averting his gaze. Alfred acting like he was shy? Now that was strange. Arthur's thick eyebrow rose and he crossed his arms over his chest, or he would have had Alfred not still had a grip on his sleeve.

"I…I need your help" Alfred said slowly, his mouth set in a deep frown and a light pink hue staining his cheeks. Now Arthur's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. Alfred was asking for help? It must be a sign of the apocalypse.

"What do you need help with?" Arthur frowned, tensing up further. The idea had now entered his head that most likely this was some kind of trick and Alfred was just going to do something to him as soon as he let his guard down, yah that sounded about right. But the distress on Alfred's face looked so sincere and he had never been good at controlling his emotions so part of Arthur wanted to believe that Alfred really did need his help. Alfred looked up happily and blue eyes met green.

"You're really gunna help me? I figured you'd just blow me off like you usually did" Alfred said excitedly. Arthur blushed darkly as Alfred grabbed his hands in his excitement and averted his gaze.

"First off, Gunna isn't a word. Going too. Second, You've never asked me for help before so what experience did you base your expectations on?" England frowned and blushed further when he realized that America still hadn't let go of his hands.

"Well usually you don't even let me explain my plans before you reject them" Alfred reasoned, his eyes narrowing but a smirk coming to his face as England's gaze snapped back to his. Just as planned.

"That's because your idea's are horrible and idiotic and you know it" Arthur said as he attempted to tug his hands out of America's grip, only finding them firmly locked in place.

"Oh whatever old man, you just don't understand their awesomeness" Alfred smirked widely and laced his fingers with Arthur's in one hand before releasing the other and leading him up the lawn and back towards the cozy looking hotel.

"Let go of my bloody hand you dolt!" He growled but fallowed along without too much of a struggle.

"No way!" Came the ever-confident reply.

~:~:~:~:~:~:~

The Spaniard had chosen this two-week meeting place carefully, and by carefully we mean chosen by Romano. Of course, if Spain had been given the choice of where to have the meeting place he would have chosen someplace last minute and more than likely the rooms would have been tomato themed. Thankfully, the Southern Italy brother had intervened and they were staying at a very relaxing place called the Matsa.

This hotel was located in a rural northern part of Spain's land and Romano had figured that the countries would like a change of pace from the busy city of America's set of meetings. There were only 24 countries attending this week's set of meetings and so the southern Italian had figured this hotel would be perfect. Of course, it meant that he and Antonio would have to room together but that didn't bother the Italian as much as he made it seem.

The Matsa was set in a peaceful forest setting that suited most of the countries, either reminding them of home or of a place so out of the ordinary that allowed them to relax fully.

All in all Lovino was pleased with himself for finding this hotel (and Spain's approval but that was another matter entirely).

Canada had a plan, sort of. Said plan involved carefully thought out attempts at avoiding France at every possible chance that came up, not knowing if he would be able to keep himself composed if the other nation had decided to talk to him. Not a very complicated plan of course, but it was working so far for the small Canadian.

Currently, Matthew had bolted from the meeting when told he was allowed too and had headed around to the back of the building and into the thick woods with his Bear. Once there, the Canadian had wandered for about fifteen minutes off of the path, not worrying about getting lost having been in the woods all of his life and knowing how to navigate even the most complicated brush. Matthew smiled to himself as he found the perfect sunny little clearing, taking a seat easily and relaxing in the sun. It wasn't as hot as it had been in Florida and so Canada was actually quite comfortable.

He was wearing a light t-shirt with his favorite hockey team displayed predominantly and a pair of jean shorts in place of his normal hoodie and jeans. Kumajirou had refused to be seen with him if he had worn his normal flower printed shirts, though Canada couldn't fathom why.

Matthew stifled a yawn in his sitting position, deciding that this would in fact be a good time for a siesta as Spain had suggested Canada leaned back and got comfortable in the soft grass. Before he knew it he had fallen into a deep, much needed, sleep and the stars had started to come out one by one.

~:~:~:~:~:~:~

America frowned at the empty room deeply, as if it was the culprit. Matthew was missing. Alfred closed his eyes tightly and thought back to dinner and the meetings prior in the day. He could remember seeing Matthew at the meeting, his eyes still red from crying but better than he had been when it had first happened and light purple rings under his eyes from a lack of sleep. He could also remember seeing his brother dash out into the woods, opting for a peacefully alone time than dealing with other people, even if most of them never noticed him. What he couldn't remember, however, was seeing him after their mid-afternoon break.

"Damn it" He growled, pulling the door shut behind him and turning to the room across the hall where Iggy and Francis just happened to be staying.

"Arthur, open up!" He said, knocking on the door quickly and much louder than necessary. After the first round of knocks however, Alfred made sure to check his watch to make sure it wasn't too late. Thankfully it was only ten so the other nation shouldn't have been too deep into sleep just yet.

"What now?" Arthur said, an annoyed twang to his voice that even Alfred couldn't miss. America pushed aside his guilt however and pushed out his words quickly.

"Matthew's missing" He said with a deep frown, his eyebrows furrowed together and a genuinely worried expression on his face. Arthur studied Alfred's face momentarily before deeming his words to be fact and turning back into the room. Alfred heard him talking with Francis in the background but couldn't make out the words though at this point he really didn't care. He had never been on the best terms with Francis and now that the man had broken his brother's heart he treated him with even more disdain.

"Lets go" Arthur said quickly, coming back to the doorway with shoes slipped on without socks and a pair of flashlights in his hands. Having noticed that Alfred didn't have one he had grabbed an extra.

"What were you two talking about?" Alfred asked, an eyebrow raised and his worried expression replaced by one of curiosity.

"He said that he'd wait here and keep an eye out just in case Matthew happened to come back. He said he'd call one of us if he did or he heard something" Arthur explained quickly with an annoyed expression. He quickly pushed the expression aside and shook his head, focusing instead on the task at hand.

Once outside, the two rounded around to the back of the house and spread apart far enough to conduct an adequate search while still keeping each other in their sights. They could have involved other people in their search but both of them knew it would have been more of a waste than anything else seeing as they could have looked directly at him and passed him over.

"Matthew!"

"Matty!"

"Where are you Matthew?"

The two continued their calls, deep frowns coming to their faces as their search came up with nothing. Finally, the two had walked all the way down the path and back and still had found no sign of the younger Canadian. Without saying a word, the two looked out at the dense underbrush that was considered 'off the path' and let out simultaneous sighs.

This was going to be a _long_ night.

Canada on the other hand, was just waking up. He blinked up at the stars with a very confused expression and narrowed his gaze. The stars couldn't be out; after all he had just fallen asleep. Mathew looked down at the bear curled up on his chest and wrapped his arms around the white mass before sitting up, Kumajirou not even shifting in his sleep.

Matthew stifled a yawn before rising to his feet while cradling the bear and letting him to sleep. Without another noise, the Canadian fallowed his memory back to the hotel without incident, that and managing to keep from passing even close to the very two people looking for him.

The Canadian slowly walked up the stairs, he wasn't tired but that didn't mean he was ready to deal with his brother just yet. Matthew took a deep breath before opening the door before pulling it shut with a resounding click in the silent building. Inside the room, Matthew gently set down Kumajirou on his bed before heading over to the desk where America's laptop was sitting. Just as he flipped open the lid there was a loud knock at the door.

Canada rolled his eyes; it had to be America wanting in. The elder nation had probably forgotten his key and now wouldn't rest until he had let him in. Canada shut the lid, not even having a chance to turn the computer on before standing up and heading to the doorway when another knock hit the doorway.

"God, Alfred, calm down. I'll be right there. If you didn't forget your key this wouldn't be an-"

Matthew's lecture cut off quickly. Lets just say it wasn't Alfred.

The man sitting wide-awake in the room across the hall had caught the gentle click and sat up quickly. He hadn't even considered going to sleep seeing as he was far too worried about Matthew.

Ever since Matthew had confessed to him, Francis had been a mess. His mind and heart in turmoil over just what he should do. God damn it he wished he could talk to Jeanne. Though…what Matthew had said to him did make sense and simply for that reason he was starting to sway more towards letting go, at least a little bit.

France stood up out of the chair and opened his door, narrowing his gaze at the door across the hallway. Francis looked left and then right before striding across the hallway and knocking on the door. When the door opened he let out a wide, confident smile before having the door slammed right in his face. On the other side of the door, Matthew had turned around, his back to said door and his hand over his heart. Francis frowned deeply and did the same, leaning against the door with his back and pulling out his cell phone. He flipped through his contacts and clicked the button for Arthur quickly and nearly through his phone against the wall when he heard the dial tone fallowed by the woman telling him to try again later.

"Matthew, I'm afraid you're going to have to deal with me. Just for a little while" Francis said slowly, letting out a deep sigh. He knew how Canada felt…ok maybe he didn't…but he could imagine. Canada clenched his chest tightly and his eyes screwed shut.

"Why should I do anything with you?" Despite his best efforts Canada's voice had broken.

"Because Amérique et Angleterre are out in the forest somewhere looking for _you_"


	10. An Ending

**Hetalia: Do not own Hetalia**

**Yep. Like the title says, this is the last chapter ^^;**

"I hate you. I bloody hate you, bastard" Arthur growled as he tripped over yet another root and had to grab onto the tree trunk to keep himself from falling on his face. Alfred, however, wasn't so lucky. The larger of the too managed to loose his footing on a moss covered rock and fell foreword with a sickening snap that signaled a broken bone.

"Fuck!" Alfred let out a small yelp as he fell, catching himself with his palms but unable to help himself as the pain shot up his leg. Before he could even realize it, Arthur was on his knees beside him, rolling the larger man onto his back and checking over the injury. Alfred clenched his eyes shut tight and balled his hands into fists to try and keep in a yell, his fingernails drawing blood as Arthur tenderly examined the wounded ankle. When he managed to open one of his eyes, Alfred took the chance to make a joke trying to lighten the situation if at all possible.

"Look how pale you are. Its like you're worried about me or something" Alfred said with a small laugh, using his arms to lift himself to a sitting position and trying not to notice how limp his ankle was and how he couldn't move it. Arthur took a seat at Alfred's feet, hands securing the foot so that it wouldn't get hurt any further.

"At least you didn't break your leg running for ice cream this time" Arthur said back with none of the usual snap in his voice. That fact alone let America know just how much the elder nation cared about him.

"That was one time!"

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Matthew quickly worked up the courage to agree to work with Francis in an attempt to find his brother along with his once father figure. After all, even if he would never admit it, he was the best nation at navigating through dense forests. By the time the two of them had found a pair of flashlight and had made their way down to the forest, the tension between the two nations was so thick you could almost see it.

The two had a quick argument about involving some of the other nations in their search. This ended however when they figured the only person who would even know the woods would be Spain and if they even knocked on the door they would have tomatoes thrown at their heads by an angry naked Italian.

The two of them walked down the pathway in silence, only breaking said silence every once in a while with a call of the two nations names. Matthew and Alfred had a small bond that most brothers shared and could sense that the nation was alright, well…not dead at least. Their bond wasn't as strong as the Italy brothers was though. Those two could tell if the other one had even pricked their finger. Matthew did feel a small shoot of pain in his ankle and knew that Alfred had done something stupid. Possibly involving broken bones. Matthew let out a groan of annoyance and turned to Francis.

"America just hurt himself" Matthew frowned, raising a hand when Francis opened his mouth to ask how he knew, "Just trust me" He said before turning away and back to the path. They had made it to the end and were heading back to the entrance, still on the nicely carved out path.

"At least they've stopped moving, Oui?" Francis grumbled, the flashlight cutting through the black in wide arcs. "That will make it easier to find them" Francis stated with a raised eyebrow. He wasn't cut out for searching through thick forests with the one person he refused to molest at every chance he was offered.

Yes, it was true. He did not and would not molest Matthew. Something that the younger nation had yet to realize. If he had than maybe he wouldn't have been as hurt.

The thing about France was that even though people noticed him in a way they didn't Matthew, and I mean how could they ignore him when he advanced on them at every chance he got, was that he could hide his true intentions very well. This being the main reason that Arthur took him serious enough to have been rivals for so long. The reason that he groped the other nations (other than the fact that he believed in l'amour libre) was because he didn't love them. It was a form of disrespect that he would never show towards someone he was actually infatuated with.

"Alfred! Arthur! Come on guys, answer me!" Matthew let out a sigh of frustration. The younger male let his hands slip from around his mouth and fall to his waist. Canada let out another sigh and walked off the beaten path. France had no hesitation or fear in fallowing the Canadian deep into the woods, knowing that he would be the safer with him than anyone else he knew.

The two continued on for around an hour before they found a sign of people coming through here before them. Matthew knew it wasn't his trail from earlier in the morning and smiled widely. He almost laughed in relief as he crouched down and ran a hand over the soft imprint in the mud and finding the signature Nike swish of Alfred's boot. Before he could speak however he felt Francis step closely behind him.

"Matthew, listen. I want to talk to you about something" France said slowly. He could see Canada stiffen before him. Francis made sure that he was close enough to Matthew that he wouldn't loose him since that would probably leave him just as bad off as Alfred and Arthur if not worse. At least they had each other.

"If it doesn't have to do with looking for America and England I honestly…don't want to hear it," Matthew said and let his hands fall to the ground before him, one on either side of the print. He had mentally decided way back in the hotel that if it came down to this he would be brave and make sure to let France know just how hurt he had been. However, now that he was actually in the other man's presence he couldn't find a way to express his feelings.

"Je suis désolé" Matthew could hear the sincerity in France's voice and for a second he almost forgave him. Then he realized that this meant nothing to him. Just because France had apologized didn't mean anything. He had ruthlessly broken Canada's heart and all he could say was 'I'm sorry'? Now Matthew was angry. He rose to a standing position, his hands clenched in fists beside him.

"For what? Getting involved with someone as stupid as me? Someone who doesn't even realize that he doesn't have a chance?" Matthew demanded, turning around and narrowing his eyes up at the French man. "You broke my heart and all you can say is you're sorry?" Matthew fought with his voice in an effort to keep from yelling and managed instead to let it falter and break multiple times.

Only to have his angry rant cut off by the other man's lips on his own. Unwillingly, Canada let out a light whimper as his anger was pushed to the back of his mind, the reasoning behind his anger pushed away almost to the point of being forgotten. When France pulled back however, Matthew's eyes snapped open and his memory returned. The young man felt hot tears run down his cheek and quickly lifted a hand to wipe away the tears before scowling at Francis once more.

"Please" His voice broke, making the word almost incomprehensible. "Don't do this if you're just going to hurt me" Canada whispered, his hand clenched over his heart and body automatically taking a step back. Matthew's eyebrows furrowed and he brilliant blue gaze narrowed.

"I've realized something Matthew" Francis started, his gaze averting and his arms crossing over his chest lightly. Thankfully, France didn't have the sense of pride that some of the other nations did and could admit when he had been wrong. That and he was not stupid enough to keep pushing forward when he knew it wasn't the right thing to do.

"You were right," He said gently as his matching blue-eyed gaze rose from the ground and turned to look at Matthew with a new softness. Canada stayed silent for a while his hand tugged at the cloth on his chest, feeling the heartbeat quicken as he tried to comprehend just what France was trying to say. Finally, the younger male found his voice.

"What do y-y-you mean?" He asked, the anger slowly fading away and being replaced by a hollow hope that he didn't dare encourage in case it was put out as ruthlessly as it had been before. France let out a sigh and tried to think of just how to say what he wanted to say in a way that he wouldn't hurt Canada any more than he already had.

Yes, he had been lectured at by both America and England about how cruel he had been and how he should have considered Matthews feelings before blatantly crushing them. Of course, Alfred's lecture had been filled with more than his fair share of threats but that was to be expected from a brother.

"Comment puis-je faire cela?" Francis sighed lightly, a hand going to his chin and a thoughtful expression taking over. The silence descended on the two once more and though it was still tense, it wasn't as bad as before.

"I understand where you were coming from when you confronted me before and I want to apologize" He said slowly, his hand falling from his chin and his thumbs hooking through the loops on his pants. "I…shouldn't have been as harsh as I was but can't you see where I was coming from?" Francis asked with a gentle sigh. He held up a hand when Matthew opened his mouth to answer and let a small smile play across his lips. Leave it to Canada to take a hypothetical question literally.

"I have been disrespecting her by not letting her rest in peace" Francis said, the smile dropping from his lips as quick as it had come and his gaze rising to the thick tree branches above him. "And I think I was scared. Scared of letting go, of moving on. Afraid that if I moved on it would be disrespecting her memory and I couldn't bare to let that happen" Canada's eyes widened when he heard the sadness in Francis' voice and the way his voice broke over the words.

"Matthew. I…I'm afraid that I've forgotten what it feels like to be in love" Francis made a small snort at how ironic it was that these words were coming from his own mouth. "I guess what I'm saying is that the way that I act when I'm in love and the way other people act when they're in love is so different that I didn't even realize what I felt, or should I say how strongly I felt, until now" He said, his gaze falling back to the earth and his eyes meeting Matthews with a small nod.

"S-So what are you saying?" Matthew managed to stutter, his gaze locked with France's and finding himself unable to look away. France took a step closer, closing the distance between them and putting a hand to Matthew's face. Canada instantly blushed, the very touch of the other man making him feel like he was on fire. France leaned in, taking the chance to put his forehead to the other males.

"I love you Matthew," He whispered gently before tilting his head lightly and pushing their lips together again. This time Canada managed to keep from letting out any noise and instead let his eyes slide closed and kissed back.

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

"They better not have bloody forgotten about us," Arthur grumbled angrily as his brows furrowed and a small constant blush stained his face. He was leaning up against the tree with his legs crossed lightly and the reason for said blush was the fact that Alfred was laying in front of him, head in his lap. Alfred, of course, was milking the broken ankle as much as he could in an attempt to get to snuggle up to Arthur as much as possible.

"No one can forget about us. For one, I'm too awesome" That one earned Alfred a light smack upside the head but he continued anyway. "And its freaking Matthew. I'm sure he went back to the room and realized we weren't there somehow and now he and Francis are out here looking for us" America smiled widely, leaning his head back to look up at England happily. England looked down at the man before him and couldn't help by smile. Alfred's grin was bloody contagious.

"How can you be so happy? You have a broken an ankle, we're lost in the woods of Spain's home and it's probably around two a.m. by now" Arthur said with a small shake of his head. He reached up a hand to brush a stray strand of hair out of Alfred's eyes, causing the younger nation to blush lightly. Then it hit him.

"You planned this didn't you!" Arthur demanded suddenly, his eyes widening and his body stiffening as he drew his arm back. America raised his eyebrows but couldn't help but smile wider.

"Yes Arthur, I _planned_ on breaking my ankle. I _planned _on Matthew not being in the room when I came back. Yes, this is all part of my elaborate _plan_" Alfred smirked, forcing Arthur to see the logic behind his words. Arthur let the words sink in and relaxed again, a blush on his face at how silly he had been.

"Your right. Forgive me" Arthur said gently leaned back on his palms, looking up at the sky.

"Can't I just be happy to be around you?" Alfred asked. For some reason, the American man had been in tune with his brother's emotions and so was now feeling just as much happiness as Matthew, even if he hadn't figured that out just yet. Arthur spluttered incoherently, unable to think of anything to say.

"Well there's one thing you can make it up to me" Alfred said, a mischievous smile coming to his face and Arthur's stomach doing flips at that look.

"Oh? And what's that?" Arthur asked slowly.

"You can kiss me"

"Oh b-bugger off!"

~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

The next morning, Spain talked about the newest international issue. However, three of the twenty-four nations were asleep. Canada was being the most polite about it, leaning back in his chair with his eyes close. His face, however, was bright red as France was leaning over, his head resting on his arms on Canada's lap.

Arthur wasn't even there to complain seeing as he had his head resting in the crook of his arm on the table, his other arm was below the table, fingers laced with the only awake one of the group. That was of course with the help of the amount of caffeine he had inhaled when they had returned to the hotel. That and the three pain pills he had taken seeing as they wouldn't be able to get to the hospital to have a cast for a while longer.

**Yep, that's it…hope you liked it!**

**If you have a suggestion for a couple you'd like to see in a new story feel free to mention it in a review~**


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